The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday reserved judgment in a suit challenging the legality of the Senate Standing Rule used in the election Dr. Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu as Senate and Deputy Presidents respectively.
The trial judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, held that the verdict will be handed down within the time limit stipulated by law.
The reaction of the judge followed an objection by five senators that instituted the case to a petition written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, asking for transfer of the case to another judge even when judgment has been reserved in the case.
The five senators are: Abu Ibrahim, Kabir Garba Marafa, Robert Ajayi Boroffice, Bareehu Olugbenga Ashafa and Suleiman Othman Hunkuyu.
In their objection to Ekweremadu’s petition, they dismissed the allegation of bais made against Justice Ademola for being unwarranted and a calculated attempt to blackmail the judge.
The objection was filed by Mamman Mike Osuman, SAN, who yesterday told judge not to be deterred by Ekweremadu’s petition on the ground that there was no basis for the petition in the first instance.
The five senators claimed that the petition of Ekweremadu, was unreasonable and faith because he (Ekweremadu), has never for once appeared in court personally to witness proceedings in the matter and therefore cannot make a case of bias.
The plaintiffs also told the judge that the Deputy Senate President is being represented by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Patrick Ikweto, who has never and will never associate himself with such an allegation of bias that cannot be substantiated in the court or anywhere.
Other defendants in the case also told the judge that the petition was strange to them because they were not copied.
Ekweremadu had last week petitioned Justice Ademola before the Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Auta and copied the Chief Justice of Nigeria asking that the case be taken away from the judge for fear of being bias against the defendants on the strength of the “sudden appointment” of the wife of the judge as the Head of Service in Lagos State.
In their suit filed by their counsel Chief Mamman Mike Osuman SAN,the plaintiffs asked the court to set aside the election for being a nullity having allegedly violated the 2011 standing rule inherited in 2015.
But Saraki told the court that the process of the election in the senate was a domestic affair of the senators because no part of the 1999 constitution or any other law was violated to warrant any litigation and that the court has no business to inquire into the internal affairs of the senate.